Device for tapping sheet-metal vessels



(No Model.)

G. H. JAMES.

DEVICE FOR TAPPING SHEET METAL VESSELS.

1 UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

OULLEN H. JAMES, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

DEVICE FOR TAPPING HEET-METAL VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,429, dated March18, 1890. Application filed December 9, 1889. $eria1No. 333,034:- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CULLEN I-I. JAMES, of Oakland, in the county ofAlameda, State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Devices for Tapping Sheet- Metal Vessels, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates specially to tapping cans in which oils are put upfor domestic use; but it is applicable to sheet-metal tanks, barrels,and all vessels of like character.

It has heretofore been the practice to tap oil-cans by soldering to theoutside of the can a soft-metal boss provided with a perforation. A holewas then punched through the tin at the rear of such perforation and ahard-metal screw-threaded faucet was screwed into such hole, cuttingthreads into the metal, and thereby securing the faucet to the can andcom 1nunicating with the interior through the hole punched in the tin.This is objectionable in that the soft-metal boss is liable to be meltedby the heat applied in soldering it to the can.

It is also objectionable in that when the faucet is removed the threadsin the boss are worn, and when the faucet is again introduced the holeis so enlarged that the faucet has to be screwed deeper in than before,and, as the size of the hole in the tin depends upon the size of thehole in the boss, it forms a contraction at the end of the hole in theboss and prevents the further introduction of the faucet, so that aftera few withdrawals and insertions of the faucet the boss becomes uselessand has to be replaced.

The object of my invention is to provide simpler, more perfect, and moredurable means for the convenient tapping of such vessels in such manneras will not impair the vessel for reuse; also to provide for cheap andconvenient renewal of worn parts.

A further object is to so construct my device as to cause as little lossof space as possible in packing for shipment.

The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention and the manner inwhich it is used.

Figure 1 represents asection of a fragment of an oil-can which isprovided with my invention as applied when the vessel is provided withit at the time of manufacture, and is ready for shipment. In this stylethe hard-metal boss is soldered to the inside of the can. Fig. 2represents a section of the same when the can has been tapped andprovided with a faucet. The section is taken on the mid-line of thefaucet. Fig. 3 represents the same fragment of the can when the faucetis removed and the can is ready for reuse. Fig. 4 shows a modificationof my device as applied to cans now in use, the can being untapped. Inthis form the hard-metal boss is soldered to the outside of the can.Fig. 5 is a view of the same after the can has been tapped. Fig. 6 showsthe same ready to be refilled and reshipped. Fig. 7 is a View of theoutside of a fragment of the can provided With my improvement applied asin Fig. 1, showing its appearance before the can is tapped.

A represents the sheet-metal can or other vessel. 7

B is a hard-metal boss soldered thereto and having a taperingscrew-threaded perforation or hole 0 therethrough. WVhere it is designedto apply this invention to the vessels at the time of theirconstruction, this perforation is preferably countersunk or enlarged onthe outer side of the boss. The outer side or face of the boss providedwith this countersink is soldered to the inside of the wall of the canor other vessel close to thebottom of the vessel, and the outer face ofthe sheet metal is provided with marks to indicate the location of theperforation, so that the person desiring to tap the vessel can determinewhere to punch the opening for the faucet.

The faucet which I use in practicing my invention is provided with astraight plain cylindrical core, shank, or stem E of hard stiff metelsuch as brass or other suitable metal of which the rest of the faucetis made. Around this core Icast a tapering soft-metal ferrule F, whichmay be composed of the following metals, melted together insubstantially the proportions set forth, to wit: bismuth,one-fourthpound; antimony, one-half pound, and lead, five pounds. The purpose ofthis composition is to produce a soft-metal covering or jacket forthefaucet which, when screwed into the tapering hole 0, will be .cut andthreaded by the threads of the tapering hole.

walls of the ICO with the side provided with the boss nppermost. Thenthe sheet metal of the can is punctured by a suitable punch, the spreadof the sheet metal being. thereby bent into the countersink of the boss,which is equal in depth to half its diameter, so that it will receivethe spread of the metal, so that it will be out of the path of thefaucet.

When-the boss is soldered to the outside of the can,the countersink isunnecessary, as the sheet metal is pressed into the inside of the can,as shown in Fig. 5.

When the ferrule F on the faucet is withdrawn and inserted into anothercan, it is screwed in deeper than before, thus cutting new threadsfarther along on the ferrule, so that there is no liability of leakage.The shank E is of a diameter smaller than the diameter of the hole 0, sothat it can pass into the canas the ferrule becomes more and more worn.When the ferrule is worn until it is desired to renew it, it is easilyremoved by dipping it in a molten bath of the composition of which it isformed. The shank of the faucet is then placed within a tapering moldand the composition is then poured around it. Thus at slight expense theferrule is renewed.

When the can has been emptied and it is desired to refill and reship it,a plug G is inserted into the hole in the boss. It is preferably ascrew-plug; but it may be of cork or from the hard-metal boss whenscrewed there- I into.

In practice it is not necessary to give the ferrule and perforations somuch taper as is shown in the drawings. In the drawings the taper isexaggerated in order that it may be the more easily seen.

Now, having described myinvention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the sheet-metal Walls of avessel, a hard-metalboss soldered thereto and having a screw-th readed perforation, and thefaucet having a stilf-metal shank provided with a soft-metal ferrule.

2. The combination of the sheet-metal walls of a vessel, a hard-metalboss soldered thereto and having a tapering screw-threaded perforation,and the faucet having a plain cylindrical stiff-metal shank providedwith a tapering soft-metal ferrule.

3. A sheet-metal vessel having a metal boss soldered to the inside ofone of its walls and provided with a screw-threaded perforationcountersunk next to such wall to receive the spread of the metal whenthe metal is punctured to tap the vessel.

OULLEN 11. JAMES. Witnesses:

JAMES R. TOWNSEND, M. G. GALER.

